Mobile network operators utilize Alternative Access Vendors (AAVs) to extend their network to areas that the operators' networks do not cover. An AAV provides a wide area networking network interface (e.g., a user network interface, or “UNI”) and provides a virtual circuit between the mobile cellular location and the carrier's core network. The networking interface may be Carrier Ethernet, Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS), Frame Relay, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), or other interface type that supports virtual circuits or virtual channels (VC).
A VC is provisioned with a committed data rate (CDR), also called a committed information rate (CIR), which is specified in a service level agreement (SLA). A peak information rate (PIR) is the maximum burst speed allowed on the VC, with packets that exceed the CIR up to the PIR being “best effort” and therefore non-guaranteed. The carrier and the AAV typically employ policers at the UNI handoff to monitor and shape throughput to conform to the CIR and/or PIR.
The Mobile Ethernet Forum (MEF) has defined a two-rate, three-color marker (trTCM) algorithm for Customer Edge (CE) Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) Class of Service (CoS). This algorithm can be implemented via two token buckets. One bucket is used to determine an in-profile service frame rate per the CoS, following the CIR value, while the other bucket is used to determine an excess service frame rate per CoS, following the PIR value.